Recording device



Aug. 10, 1937. P TT w 2,089,294

RECORDING DEVICE Filed July ll, 1936 INVENTOR. GIM /7:20 Parr/(mew ATTORNEYJ.

Patented Aug. 10, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to an indicator for aircraft for positively recording by the pilot conditions possibly resulting in a disastrous accident.

As is well known, it is most important for the advancement of air service that the technical supervisors be informed as to the cause of any accident. It is still more important that they be informed as to the cause of an accident which results in death for the pilot. In most accidents of this character, there can be no positive knowledge as to the cause of the accident owing to the death of the pilot and to the substantial destruction of the aircraft, which wipes out any indication of trouble. Consequently, the technical investigators must resort to indirect methods of determining the cause of the disaster, which they may or may not be able to determine.

It is, therefore, the purpose of this invention to equip the aircraft with a conveniently located instrument upon which the pilot may readily indicate any cause of trouble which, in his judgment, may result in disaster. Such instrument is so arranged as to be self-locking, impervious to fire or concussion and, therefore, remain intact for trouble identification by the technical investigators.

One feature of the invention resides in the simple arrangement of a plurality of indicating buttons adapted to be repositioned by the pilot to indicate any particular difiiculty which he encounters and which, in his judgment, may lead to disaster.

Another feature of the invention resides in the self-locking arrangement whereby any operated buttons will automatically lock themselves in operated position and lock the remaining buttons in inoperative position. Such self-locking arrangement is further guarded by the housing of the instrument which may not be opened or tampered with other than by those having the proper key to unlock it. Thus, wherein the instrument is once set by the pilot to indicate the source of trouble, such indication will not be i affected by fire, concussion or a tamperer and, ac-

cordingly, will give a true picture to the investigators as to the cause of the accident.

Other objects and features of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawing and the following description and claims:

Fig. l is a plan view of the instrument showing all indicating buttons in unoperated position. Fig. 2 is the same as Fig. 1 showing some buttons in operated position. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the cover plate removed and laid back whereby the associated parts appear in inverted position.

In the drawing, there is shown an instrument comprising a housing in the form of an elongated box provided with flanged ends H for securing the same to an instrument panel, the Webs of the steering wheel or any suitable and convenient location on the aircraft. Said housing is provided with a cover plate 12 which may only be removed through the medium of a suitable lock and key of any ordinary type not shown herein. Arranged longitudinally of the housing there are a plurality of operative indicating buttons l3, each of which is associated with a suitable indicium thereon or on the cover plate in association therewith for indicating diiierent well known dangerous conditions arising in the air service, whether in the operation of an airplane, a hydroplane, a dirigible or a balloon.

Each of the buttons I3 is mounted upon the end of a stem H which protrudes through a vertical slot I5 formed in the cover plate l2. The rear end of the stem is secured to a vertically slidable block l6 which is slidably mounted adjacent the rear wall of the housing and slidably held in position thereagainst by a plate l1, there being a reinforcing strip H! to which the lower end of the plate I1 is secured for spacing it and strengthening the construction. Each stem I4 has an individual coil spring [9 connecting it with an ear secured to the upper portion of the plate I1. Thus, the stem l4 and the exposed buttons l3 mounted thereon may be moved downwardly of the housing, longitudinally of the slot I5 against the tension of the spring l9.

Pivotally mounted upon the supporting block 2 I, which in turn is secured to the cover plate i2, there is a bell crank lever 22, one lever being associated with each stem H. In normal position, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, one arm 22a of the bell crank lever extends horizontally across the slot IS in the path of movement of the stem when it is moved downwardly through said slot by the manipulation of a button l3. The other arm 22b of the lever extends upwardly and bears against a pin 23 secured to a sliding block 24 which is rigidly connected with a sliding bar 25 by a tongue 26, there being a sliding block 24 associated with each bell crank lever, pin 23 and button l3 and a connecting tongueforeachsliding block while the sliding bar 25 is common to all of said parts. Each of the sliding blocks 24 are adapted to slide laterally between their respective fixed blocks 2| and a laterally extending fixed guide bar 28.

The top sliding bar is normally held in retracted, unoperated position by a tension spring 29 having one end secured thereto and the other end secured to the top of the fixed bar 28. At the other end of the housing from the spring 29, there is provided a locking latch 30 which is pivoted to the housing at 3| and normally urged into latching position by a spring 32, said latch being provided with a recess 33 adapted to engage a pin 34 on the sliding bar for latching said bar in operated position. There is also provided a lock pin 35 for locking said bar in unoperated position, said pin extending through an aperture in the top of the housing, through a hole in the top fixed guide bar 28 and into an aligned aperture in the sliding bar 25. The fixed bar 21 is provided with a recess 36 in which the stem i4 normally extends out of the line of movement of the sliding blocks 24.

' In operation, the instrument is normally locked in unoperated position, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. In this position, the locking pin 35 prevents operation and the latch is in unlatched position. The purpose of the locking pin is to prevent accidental operation which would thereupon render the instrument unoperative in case of required operation until it was unlocked at a proper station. Whenever it appears to the pilot that danger is ahead in one form or another, he quickly removes the locking pin and presses down on one or more buttons l3 having indicia indicating the source of danger. However, if there is more than one source of danger, the pilot must press down on all buttons simultaneously since the first pressed into operated position permanently locks the apparatus against operation of any other button.

As illustrated herein, three buttons have been simultaneously operated, Figs. 2, 4, 5, and 6. Upon one or more of said buttons being pushed down, the stems l4 engage the horizontal arms 22a of the bell crank 22. Continued downward movement of the buttons forces the arms 22a. downwardly, which in turn forces the arms 22b laterally against the respective pins 23 so as to force the respective sliding blocks 24 laterally across their respective slots I5. This occurs after the operated stems have passed below the line of movement of the sliding blocks 24.

However, the stems of the unoperated buttons remain in their respective recesses 35 in the fixed bar 21 above the sliding blocks 24 so that they are thereupon blocked from movement and are locked in their unoperative position. By reason thereof, the operated stems are locked in their operated position below the sliding blocks 24 which have blocked the paths of movement of said stems through their respective slots. The sliding blocks are locked in their blocking position by the latch 30 which is caused to engage the pin 34 upon operation of one or more buttons.

The instrument, therefore, is locked in troubleindicating position upon the simultaneous operation of one or more buttons. The operated buttons cannot be retracted and the unoperated buttons cannot be operated without unlocking the housing in order to get at the latch 30.

The instrument is made of steel and its indicating character cannot be destroyed or altered by fire. The locking of the indicating structure renders it tamper-proof and unaffected by shock,

As a result, investigating technicians, in case of fatal accidents, need only observe the indicating buttons to interpret the cause of the accident as registered by the pilot immediately prior thereto.

The invention claimed is:

1. An instrument for indicating the source of danger to aircraft, comprising a locked housing having a plurality of slots in the face thereof, a danger-indicating member having an exposed manually operated button and stem extending through each of said slots, a plurality of slidable locking blocks adapted to be Jointly moved across the path of movement of the stems through said slots for preventing passage thereof, a bell crank lever having one arm extending through the path of movement of each of said stems and the other arm engaging one of said locking blocks, whereby, upon the movement of one of said stems through its slot, it will cause said lever to operate all of said blocks Jointly for moving them to locking position, whereby further movement of said stems would be prevented, a latch within said housing adapted to latch said blocks in locking position, whereby said stems may not again be moved without unlocking said housing and manipulating said latch, and a locking member exteriorly of said housing for preventing movement of said pins from original position until released by external manipulation of said locking member.

2. An instrument for indicating the source of danger to aircraft, comprising a locked housing having a plurality of slots in the face thereof, a danger indicating member having an exposed manually operated button and stem extending through each of said slots, a sliding block secured to the other end of said stem, said housing having a trackway for guiding the sliding movement of said block, said button, stem and block being adapted to slide in planes extending parallel with the face of the housing, a spring having one end connected with the housing and the other end with said stem for normally maintaining said member in inoperative position, a plurality of sliding locking blocks adapted to be jointly moved across the path of movement of the stems through said slots for preventing passage thereof, a bell crank lever having one arm extending through the path of movement of each of said stems and the other arm engaging one of said locking blocks for moving said blocks to locking position whereby movement of one of said stems will prevent movement of the other stems, and a latch within said housing adapted to latch said blocks in locking position.

3. An instrument for indicating the source of danger to aircraft, comprising a locked housing having a plurality of slots in the face thereof, a danger indicating member having an exposed manually operated button and stem extending through each of said slots, a sliding block secured to the other end of said stem, said housing having a trackway for guiding the sliding movement of said block, said button, stem and block being adapted to slide in planes extending paral lel with the face of the housing, means for normally maintaining said stem and button in inoperative position, and a locking element slidably actuated relative to said housing by the movement of one of said members from inoperative to operative position, such movement of said member causing said element to move into position for locking each of the other members in their inoperative position.

GARFIELD PE'I'I'IGRE'W. 

